AUSTAL LIMITED — Capital/Financing Update 2009

Sep 13, 2009

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COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT 14 September 2009

ORDER FOR PASSENGER FERRY FLEET

Austal confirms the recent announcement by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago that it has entered into a shipbuilding contract for the design and construction of four 41 metre high speed passenger ferries.

Subject to one condition precedent, Austal anticipates an effective contract valued at approximately AUD$75 million.

The order is the third commercial contract Austal has secured this year, which includes large vehicle ferries for European operators Virtu Ferries and Nordic Ferry Services.

Construction of the four-vessel fleet will be shared across Austal’s Tasmanian and West Australian facilities, with delivery scheduled for late 2010.

Austal Managing Director Bob Browning commented;

“This contract marks an impressive hat-trick of commercial orders over recent months. Considering the current global economic climate, this achievement is a fantastic endorsement of Austal’s commitment to fulfilling its customer's commercial needs with affordable, quality products,” Mr Browning said.

“By offering a diverse range of commercial products - from smaller passenger ferries such as these to the larger vehicle ferries ordered earlier this year - we now find ourselves in the enviable position of having a steady workload across all our Australian shipyards,” he said.

The vessels will be used to establish a water taxi service between San Fernando and Port of Spain in southwest Trinidad and are designed to carry 405 passengers at a speed of approximately 37 knots.

Austal is currently building six fast patrol craft for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, due for delivery in early 2010.

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For further information contact: Austal, Public Relations Tel: +61 8 9410 1111 Fax: +61 8 9410 2564 Email: pubrel@austal.com Website: www.austal.com

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